Aries (March 20-April 19) — It’s time to update your files on a relationship. All year long you’ve been in a phase of review or reconsideration of an important partnership. The question phase is over, and it’s time to apply the things you’ve learned. The core question that it’s time to answer is, what are you doing in this involvement? You may decide that it’s productive; you may decide it’s not working for you at all; you may decide that the situation is workable and that you’re still committed to it. However, you need to know where you stand, and anyone else involved must know that too. This meeting must be on level ground, with all parties agreeing that the situation is fair and mutually beneficial. This is likely to require some ongoing, careful thought on your part. For example, if you decide that the situation is not perfect but is workable, then the details have to be worked out. If you decide that it’s not worth going forward, then an exit strategy must be negotiated. And if you feel strongly about moving ahead with the relationship, you still have to do some careful review of the history of your involvement so that you don’t repeat any mistakes going forward. Whatever you do, it’s clear that you need to proceed with full information and a solid commitment. There are significant challenges ahead, and you have the ability to turn them all to your advantage.

Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Your relationships seem to throw you one opportunity after the next to rise above your own nature. The world is constantly demanding a higher level of maturity, attention and commitment. Such is the nature of Saturn in your opposite sign Scorpio. This transit won’t last forever, it’s indeed challenging and I promise you one thing: you will miss it when it’s over. Saturn presents challenges, and it also offers the circumstances that you need to meet them. In that sense, Saturn is eminently even-handed, though you may not see it that way. Speaking in the more immediate sense, but also related to Saturn, the theme of this month is a focus on money. It’s vital that you rethink some recent decisions, not waste your resources and make the most of the situations where you are compensated for your work. It’s essential that you find the meeting place between what you’re good at and its value to others, and maximize that relationship. Make sure you focus your efforts on what really matters to the person or organization that is paying you. Remember that you’re part of something larger than yourself, and that your role is to contribute energy and ideas. Reach for a whole-system approach — also known as a plus-plus symbiosis, or the greatest good for all concerned. That’s not the way of the world, but soon we’ll have no other choice.

Gemini (May 20-June 21) — This month’s astrology illustrates an idea that’s dear to my heart: that self-esteem and one’s financial situation are closely related. I know that money supply is often blamed on the economy, and one’s place in life seems to be about how many credentials or connections one has. I think it’s much more obviously an emotional connection to feeling good about who you are, good enough to assert yourself to others and to excel at your work. This is one of the most basic measures of self-esteem — whether you feel you have a role in society. It also works the other way: the more you cultivate your talent and assert yourself as a gifted person, the more likely you are to develop those qualities. There are always ups and downs along the way, and dealing with them in a mature way is a significant part of personal growth. One aspect of this is being passionate about your talents, which means enough to take a risk on them. Then there’s one more bit. You may need to give up something in order to move forward doing what you’re best at. That might be your time, it might be some other interest, it might be a financial involvement or it might be an attachment to not succeeding. This is not really a sacrifice — in time, you’ll figure out that it was an exchange.

Hello Gemini! Your birthday reading will be ready Monday and is still available at the pre-order price of $24.95. Your reading now includes a live one-hour question and reply session with me, which is a chance to ask about your astrology. It also includes a tarot reading and access to last year’s reading as well, so you can check back and evaluate my work. On Monday the price goes up to $39.95. — efc

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Use a series of rare aspects this month to work out conflicts in your motives, the ‘mixed signal’ phenomenon and other unresolved material that will come to your awareness. You will be able to get underneath the surface of subject matter you’ve long puzzled over, and psychic material you’ve had a vague sense of but could never put your finger on. This will key directly into healing modalities that become available, plus mentors or practitioners you encounter, who actually understand something about the nature of what you’re experiencing, and can actually help. Perhaps the most significant thing you should know about your astrology, and that is not visible on the level of the ordinary planets, is what a profound time of healing and learning this is for you. On some level you suspect this intuitively, though I want to confirm it for you as an astrologer. And I want to let you know how big this really is. I’m not just talking about healing; I am talking about you tuning up your entire system to be able to receive rare and highly specific teachings, information and what you might think of as galactic data. I know this is a bit more New Agey than I usually get, though that is what the charts say. And the next four to six weeks will be a time of focusing your learning patterns and opening up to possibilities you never imagined.

Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — You play a unique role in the culture, and this month your charts are describing that as a publicist for something weird, intriguing or that goes against the normal grain of society. It could be your project, it could involve someone close to you and it might also be that you’re going to be taken on a tour of all that dances to the tune of its own drummer. You’re likely to make some big scores or turn up a few gems in your process of exploring and experimenting with some aspect of culture. But you may not know what they are, so the idea is to be very observant and to treat everything as a potential gem. Doing this involves being more than a consumer or passive participant in the world around you. Think of yourself more as a cosmic talent scout, someone surveying new artistic or business territory, or going to unusual places and finding the most creative people. In these weeks you have the potential to cultivate or discover ways to increase your income, but there are two caveats. One is that you must be following your true calling. The second is that you need to be flexible enough to adjust and adapt to a continually changing environment. As it turns out, this aspect of life is one of your most adaptable, and where you have the most natural curiosity.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — Examine carefully your values as they relate to the spiritual and financial aspects of your life. They’re not really separate; indeed, they are inseparable except for an idea, and that is the idea I’m suggesting you look at. This is not an easy idea to translate out of the charts, but here’s my best throw. It’s not necessary to give up success to have some form of spiritual growth, or not in the way that you think. Western religion is all over the map on this one — some say that wealth is a reward from God, some say that one must give it all up to get any respect from God. But what does God have to do with it? Who is this mysterious authority figure making bold, sweeping and seemingly contradictory statements about what must be so? And why do they apply to you? I suggest you examine carefully the concept of sacrifice — that which you must give up in order to make something sacred, or to win the favor of God. Your charts in my reading reveal a passionate drive for something that includes devotion, creative passion, a visionary quality and the potential for monetary success. There are, as you well know, two ways to read nearly anything; of the two this is the creative, life-affirming one, the one where you come out the winner, in harmony with existence.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Yours is known to be one of the most laid-back signs, but you know this is an act. In fact you are one of the most driven and determined individuals you know, once you make up your mind what you want — and as long as you don’t simmer in resentment and regret, uncertain whether you deserve something. Now, you always have the option to hook into that, but it’s old, and it’s the very thing you’re trying to let go of — so I suggest you cut your losses, give back what is not yours, and move on with a clear conscience. If you have to make amends to anyone, do so sincerely and move on. If you need to apologize to anyone, do so and get on with your life. And one other thing: if you have to forgive anyone, including yourself, then integrate that into everything else you’re doing as part of the move-on process. Forgiveness is not stuffing something, or forgetting something, or demanding that someone take the blame. It’s the opposite of all these things, and though nobody can really explain the process, it does exist and it seems to be easier if you ask for help in whatever spiritual language you speak. The most important thing nearly everyone agrees on about forgiveness is that in truth, it’s not about anyone but yourself.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — In most of my recent Scorpio commentaries, I’ve explored the concept of fear, and the way your charts are describing how you’re working it out. The sum total of this topic is that the most poignant, threatening subject of fear is oneself. This manifests many ways, including as fear associated with dropping the charade and being oneself. It’s always fear that keeps the game of being ‘someone else’ going. It manifests as fear of one’s potential. Or it can express itself as the quality of needing to hide behind a barricade, concerned what will happen if you come out. And one of the most common, and for you debilitating, ways it can manifest is fear of your sexuality. All of the pseudo-conservatism we are seeing in our current era of history, and false modesty and intentional ignorance of biology, are all expressions of fear of sex and sexuality. This is especially distressing and debilitating for you because your sign is all about sex: the sign that in ancient astrology rules the sex organs, and in modern astrology one’s hormones, desire and the nuances of attraction. Because life emerges from sex, the fear of sex, in any form, is fear of life. You who want to be alive need to align with your desire and your erotic power, as if it were the cosmic gift that it actually is.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Much that you could not talk about, or find anyone willing to discuss, is about to become a household topic. It will be up to you to make them a household topic, though you know it’s time for you and the people around you to speak in an open way about what is obvious. You can initiate the discussion gently, and you may be surprised to see that people respond. Seen one way, they are reflecting you and responding to your commitment to truth. Seen another way, they are tapping the underside of their own nature, and that particular aspect has more in common with who you are than it does with who they usually are, or think they are. Therefore, I would encourage you to have all the unusual, irreverent or taboo discussions that you’ve ever wanted to have. Get good at it. Find out how easy it is to lure people into revealing the truth of who they are, and use that information wisely. In one sense you will be looking into a mirror — but a mirror so clear, it will be entirely convincing that what you see is not a reflection. You don’t need to believe it’s a reflection — you can merely ask yourself how you would respond if what you were seeing reveal itself in others was, hypothetically, some aspect of yourself.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — This is your take-charge moment, though for the next few weeks as Mercury treks backwards through Gemini, I suggest you keep this fact concealed. Rather, work with people on their familiar level of the game, of the company or of society. Learn everything you can, about them and about what they do. There is a style of leadership (such as onboard a ship) where the captain must have mastered every single station, task and routine that any of his or her sailors must do. This is the approach that I suggest you take. As you do so, establish relationships with everyone you know who is doing those tasks and make sure they know you appreciate them. Once Mercury stations direct, you will then step into a coordinating role. Again, this will not be the ordinary kind of top-down leadership that our society seems to worship, leading to the $25 million CEO who cannot actually do anything. As time goes on, and you demonstrate your competence and skill by passing through a series of initiations or tests, you will earn the respect of those around you. Along the way, I suggest you think of everyone as your potential benefactor and supporter rather than as a competitor. This will be a refreshing change, and who knows, maybe other people around you will start to pick up on the idea.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — You seem to be having doubts about your power or your influence, and at the same time you seem to be tamping yourself down intentionally. This may be the best approach for the next few weeks as you work out some ethical issues that seem to be bothering you. This may be stuff that has been hanging around for a while, but which you’ve just been able to focus into a coherent thought. The question relates to one or both of your parents, which is why you can go for so long working something out that you don’t even know exists; it showed up before you were born, and you thought it belonged there. This would be a good moment to question everything you’ve taken for granted, any words of self-defeating ‘wisdom’ that any parent, teacher, caregiver or other authority figure ever delivered to you. One way to find such material if it’s buried is to consider any self-defeating thoughts you have and ask yourself where you learned them. They came from somewhere, but they will have little influence without your support and willingness to play along. It will then be up to you to teach yourself what is right, and to follow that teaching and see how it works. It will help if you gather others around you who affirm what you both know is true. There’s strength in numbers, especially for an Aquarius.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — This is a rare and beautiful moment in your life — especially if you remember that the best thing you can do for yourself is to believe in yourself. Have faith in your abilities and your goals. Know that you have the talent and the strength to accomplish what you set out to do. Trust that you have more than just enough; you have more than enough to make whatever happen. All you need is faith, and that is indeed a sign of strength. If you can’t muster that, then even the most basic modicum of trust in yourself will suffice. Tune into this on an emotional level, not just a mental one. Connect with the feeling of competence. If there are two sides to the argument, listen to both and choose carefully which one you believe. Most of all, allow yourself to feel desire and hunger for accomplishment. What you cannot do yourself you are capable of finding others who are loyal to you to do; be bold and ask for what you need. People will respond to your confidence, and this will create a cycle that feeds on itself. Your astrology portrays a time in your life when you possess unusual gifts, yet ones that are distinctly human. That is all you need to be, though I would add that most descriptions of what human means fall woefully short of what is possible — though the difference is almost always crossed by that distinctly human quality of faith in oneself.